There are a variety of medications and other liquids that are subject to chemical change, loss of potency, or other adverse effects as the result of exposure to actinic radiation, the actinic radiation usually including light near or within the ultraviolet portion of the spectrum. Examples of medications of this kind include B complex vitamins and Dopamine. Some of these medications should not be packaged in plastic containers because they tend to absorb or react with some of the plasticizers or other constituent materials from such containers, with resultant adulteration or other deterioration.
In the field, it is often desirable to have medications pre-packaged in single-use syringes and like dispensers, including dispensers used to inject medications or other therapeutic agents into nebulizers. For medications which are subject to deterioration or degradation by exposure to actinic light, it has been customary to utilize dispenser housings formed of amber glass or other tinted glass that blocks the actinic radiation but still allows some visual inspection of the contents of the dispenser. Amber-colored or other tinted plastic housings having similar characteristics have also been employed for medications that are not subject to deterioration from contact with plastic.
The conventional practice, however, adds materially to the cost of the syringe or other dispenser, and also presents appreciable operating difficulties. Thus, the cost of amber glass tubing for a syringe housing is frequently three to four times the cost of otherwise similar tubing formed of clear, transparent glass. The cost differential per syringe is quite small, but the total cost to an institution, such as a large hospital, that may use hundreds or thousands of single-use syringes each month, can be appreciable. The inspection characteristics of amber glass or plastic syringes of this kind are rather poor; if the liquid being dispensed is relatively transparent, it may be quite difficult to determine whether the chamber within the syringe is completely full, as it must be for adequate control of administered dosage. The amber or other coloring for the syringe housing also makes it difficult to determine whether the syringe has been used previously and then perhaps re-filled in whole or in part with some dilutent (e.g. water). Moreover, the amber background afforded by conventional syringes that provide protection against actinic light is a poor one for labelling purposes, which may be critical when the syringes are employed for storing and dispensing a variety of different medications.